“It seems to me, that if there is a bad taste in your mouth, you spit it out. You don't constantly swallow it back.” Bad TasteAmazing Grace Author:Steven Knight
“[2015] it's a time that there's a clash of ideologies, similar to the Cold War. I think that a story like this has been waiting to be told, and I think it's a fresh look at the whole earth-shattering business of the collapse of the Soviet Union.” ThinkingLooksHas BeensWarWholeStoriesEarthWaitingColdUnionsIdeologySovietCollapseCold WarSoviet UnionClashShattering Author:Steven Knight
“I think people are drawn to characters that break the rules. I think there is something about a good person doing bad things for what they consider to be a good reason. Then the battle is on to almost prove to the audience that it's justified. How far can you go with that? How far can that character go before people won't accept it? Trying to walk to edge of that line is a challenge.” PeopleThinkingTryingPersonsReasonCharacterChallengesLinesWalksAcceptingBreakAudienceBattleProveEdgesBad ThingsJustifiedGood Person Author:Steven Knight
“There's lots of different ways of writing stuff and lots of different mindsets to have, but I think when it's your own creation, it's more pleasurable because you have total control.” ThinkingWayWritingDifferentStuffCreationMindsetDifferent Ways Author:Steven Knight
“Sometimes you take something because it's an offer and it's big and it's good money and you have to absolutely respect that process, because it's not easier.” SometimesBigsProcessEasierOffersGood Money Author:Steven Knight
“I love cooking and kitchens.It's just a great world, and I wanted to explore it. You see the façade, the outside, the public part, and then you just walk through one door marked "Staff Only" and you're in a different universe.” WorldDifferentWantedUniverseWalksDoorsCookingKitchenStaffCooking LoveDifferent Universes Author:Steven Knight
“When I was probably about 10 or 11, and I found it was simply something I could do. When you're at school and you do something and you get praised for it, you think, "Oh, right, well I'll do that." From then on, I always thought I'd be a writer. I thought novels at first, and then I sort of naturally drifted into TV.” ThinkingFirstsWellsSchoolFoundNovelTvs Author:Steven Knight
“True stories are always good because they're so odd, and so unlikely.” StoriesOddUnlikelyTrue Story Author:Steven Knight
“It's always good to have a world that people don't know about - a world that hasn't yet been done. It's like treading on fresh snow. You're the first one there.” PeopleKnowsWorldFirstsDoneSnowTreadingFresh Snow Author:Steven Knight
“I'm very bad at watching anything. I'm bad at going to theaters; I can't watch my own stuff; I watch a lot of sports.” I CanStuffSportsMy OwnWatchesTheater Author:Steven Knight
“When you're watching, I find two things happen. You either watch a film and it's really good and then you think, "Why can't I do that?" Or you watch a film and it's not good, and you think, "Why am I doing this?" So either way, it feels like being at work.” ThinkingWayFeelsTwoHappensFilmWatchesThings HappenTwo Things Author:Steven Knight
“I think that it's not a bad thing to not be too versed in the vocabulary of cinema, because you start to think that certain things are allowed and not allowed.” ThinkingCertainCinemaBad ThingsVocabulary Author:Steven Knight
“If you've read something brilliant, it's good. It's good to look out the window and see what's going on in the world.” IfsWorldLooksWindowBrilliant Author:Steven Knight
“Sometimes if you're a director, you want to believe that you're great and capable at all aspects - the technical side, the lights, everything - but I'm not.” IfsWantBelieveSometimesLightSidesDirectorsCapableAspect Author:Steven Knight
“I've realized that the only thing I'm interested in is the performance. If the performance is right, then I'm happy. You offer up the dialogue and then the performance comes around.” IfsOffersPerformancesDialogue Author:Steven Knight
“I was 21, when I heard the story that inspired this [thriller Allied], and I wasn't even a screenwriter then.” StoriesHeardInspiredThrillersScreenwriters Author:Steven Knight
“The story [of Allied] stayed with me, like a stray dog outside the office, waiting.” StoriesWaitingDogOfficeStray Dogs Author:Steven Knight
“The time came where I was able to write an original screenplay [Allied], and it would be read and noticed. I had a meeting with Brad [Pitt], just around the time that he was making World War Z. I basically told him the story and said, "This is what I want to do," and he really responded, so that helped me put the thing together and write it.” WorldWantWritingSaidWarStoriesWould BeAbleTogetherOriginalsMeetingsWar Of The WorldsScreenplaysBradWorld War Z Author:Steven Knight
“[Allied] got the attention of (director) Bob Zemeckis and Marion Cotillard. I'm glad I waited. If it had been made 15 years before, who knows how it would have looked, but it's got the best possible cast, director and everything. It's been fantastic. It was worth waiting.” IfsKnowsYearsMadeWaitingAttentionKnow HowDirectorsCastsGladFantasticBob Author:Steven Knight
“I always thought it would never happen. And then, it became possible. In between commissions, I wrote it as an original screenplay [Allied].” HappensOriginalsScreenplays Author:Steven Knight
“No screenplay is possible, unless you get some attachment from somebody who's going to get it made.” MadeAttachmentScreenplays Author:Steven Knight
“When Brad [Pitt] responded [to Allied], suddenly what was impossible became possible, which was great. But along the way, whenever I told the story, it had an affect on people. At its core, this was an effective story.” PeopleWayStoriesImpossibleCoreBrad Author:Steven Knight
“Just the idea that someone is married and they've got a kid, and he reports for work one morning and his boss says, "You're wife is a spy. Shoot her." In the real story, he just went back and did it, which would have been a short film. Therefore, I had to spend some time exploring what you would do.” Has BeensIdeasRealStoriesKidsFilmMorningWifeMarriedReportsBossExploringSpyShort FilmsReal Story Author:Steven Knight
“[Allied] meant to be a film that's a bit different. It's roots are in the '40s and '50s, and that sort of filmmaking style.” DifferentFilmBitsStyleRootsMeant To BeFilmmaking Author:Steven Knight
“In terms of how [Allied] looks, it's fantastic and much better than I had hoped because it's so lush and so beautifully executed.” LooksTermFantasticLush Author:Steven Knight
“The story [of Allied ] itself is the story I wrote, and that's what's great about Bob [Zemeckis ]. You have meetings, but it's meetings for clarity, not to change what they're saying or doing. He takes what's on the page and executes it so brilliantly.” StoriesPagesMeetingsClarityBob Author:Steven Knight
“Whenever I see a cut of a film and something is gone, I don't notice it unless it obviously should have been kept.” ShouldHas BeensFilmGoneCuttingShould HaveShould Have Been Author:Steven Knight
“There [in Allied] were things that were written that were cut, and things that were shot that were cut, but if the film works, they are erased from memory.” IfsFilmMemoriesCuttingWrittenShots Author:Steven Knight
“The sandstorm, which I think is an absolute triumph, could have been awkward. It's sex in a car, so who knows. And I think the rooftops look fantastic [in Allied].” ThinkingKnowsLooksHas BeensSexCarAbsolutesFantasticTriumphAwkwardCould Have BeenRooftopsSandstorms Author:Steven Knight
“There [in Allied] was depicting London in the war, as well, and doing that in a way where you see something that you don't normally see, which is how hedonistic it was. In reality, that's what was going on. But, all of it worked.” WayWellsWarRealityLondonHedonistic Author:Steven Knight
“I visited the set [of Allied] a few times, and it was a great set to visit. A lot of it was in West London, in an old Gillette factory. You'd go into the factory through the security, and then there were a lot of camels and goats. Most sets are really dull, but this was fantastic.” SecurityWestLondonFantasticDullFactoriesGoatsCamels Author:Steven Knight
“It felt [at the Allied set] like, "At last, I'm in Hollywood," even though I was in West London. It was like, "This is how a film should be made." It was beautiful.” ShouldMadeLastsBeautifulFilmFeltHollywoodWestLondonMade It Author:Steven Knight
“It's great that the story [Allied] is set in the '40s because the '40s feel to it is completely appropriate.” FeelsStoriesAppropriate Author:Steven Knight
“It has to be an actress like Marion Cotillard [in Allied] because there are so many levels to it. It's set in the Second World War, when lots of people were doing things that, outside of a war, you wouldn't do, like killing and dropping bombs. She's doing things that one wouldn't approve of, but it's war.” PeopleWorldWarLevelsKillingActressesWar Of The WorldsBombsDroppingSecond World WarDropping Bombs Author:Steven Knight
“What I wanted to do [in Allied] was get two characters who fall in love for real, across the barricade, and then it transcends the war.” TwoWarRealCharacterWantedFallFalling In LoveBarricades Author:Steven Knight
“There were three options [in Allied], which were for [Bred Pitt] to shoot [Marion Cotillard], for them to escape, or for her to pull the trigger, which is a heroic act to spare him. When I was thinking about how it would end, a long time ago, I think I tried each of them to see, but two of them did not work.” ThinkingLongTwoEndsThreeLong TimeHeroicSparesLong Time AgoTriggersHeroic Acts Author:Steven Knight
“Expect the unexpected, is what I'd say about Taboo. It's different. I don't think you've seen anything like it. It's getting incredible responses, so fingers crossed.” ThinkingDifferentResponseFingersIncrediblesUnexpectedTabooFingers Crossed Author:Steven Knight
“It's such a gift when you know who you're writing for and you know that that actor is capable of so much that you can relax a bit.” KnowsWritingActorsBitsCapableRelax Author:Steven Knight
“You know that when you suggest something on the page, it's going to be there, plus more. It's a great luxury to know that you don't have to push it. You just lay it out, and it will be there.” KnowsPagesLaysLuxuryPlus Author:Steven Knight
“I didn't direct [the Taboo episodes]. I wrote all of them.” DirectEpisodesTaboo Author:Steven Knight
“I've been writing so much. And what happens with TV is that they split [Taboo] into two blocks, so you get a director that does four and another director that does another four. You commit yourself to seven days a week, for 12 or 13 hour days for a long time. I couldn't really do that.” WritingLongDoeTwoHappensHoursFourWeekTvsDirectorsLong TimeSevenCommitBlockSplitsTabooSeven Days Author:Steven Knight
“A commission and an original are two different things, and both have their virtues and vices. A commission is a bit more collaborative, in that you outline the story that you think should be told, and then you write it.” ThinkingShouldWritingTwoDifferentStoriesBitsVirtueOriginalsVicesDifferent ThingsOutlinesTwo Different Things Author:Steven Knight
“It was great fun to do because of the central character. With The Girl in the Spider's Web, the girl is really the central character. She's the whole thing.” WholeCharacterGirlFunSpiders Author:Steven Knight
“[The Girl in the Spider's Web] can't be anything other than a sequel, but a couple of books have been skipped, so it is different, in that sense. It's really taking a very strong central character and thinking, how do you execute this? It's quite different.” ThinkingHas BeensBookDifferentCharacterGirlStrongCoupleVery StrongSpidersSequels Author:Steven Knight
“[The film Woman Walks Ahead] is from a long time ago. I wrote that ages ago. It looks gorgeous and Jessica [Chastain] is so good that I've got high hopes.” LooksLongAgeFilmWalksLong TimeGorgeousLong Time AgoJessica Author:Steven Knight
“[Woman Walks Ahead] is from me being a very bizarre child. From the age of about 8 to the age of about 15, I was obsessed with Native Americans.” ChildrenAgeWalksObsessedNativeNative AmericanBizarre Author:Steven Knight
“I must have been about 11 when I read the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which I read, over and over again.” HeartHas BeensBookMy HeartKneesWoundedWounded Knee Author:Steven Knight
“I read more and more and I came across this character, Caroline Weldon. Sometimes in history, you find these people that no one would dare create. They're too mad.” PeopleSometimesCharacterMadDare Author:Steven Knight
“Obviously, television is a writer's medium, so you get a lot more power and authority. With a film, the discipline is having a beginning, middle and end, and having it work in a specific space of time.” EndsFilmSpaceMiddleTelevisionDisciplineAuthorityMediumsBeginning Middle And End Author:Steven Knight
“Suddenly, after years of television being the poor relation and film being everything, it now feels like film is a conjuring trick. It's like, "Oh, my god, how are you going to do that in 90 minutes, as opposed to eight hours?! I've got so little time to do this!" It becomes an art form, in itself. Doing both helps you do each one.” FeelsYearsLittlesArtHelpingFilmFormHoursPoorMinutesTelevisionRelationEightTricksLittle TimeConjuring Author:Steven Knight
